Arson and Old Lace What Really Happened?
by katnissta
Summary: Based on the 70's show Arson and Old Lace. We witness the aftermath of the kidnapping and the effect on everyone. We learn just what the extent of what Nancy's time there meant. Not everyone can forget the past and move on, but maybe Nancy can have a semi-normal life again.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I took suggestions for my writing and I am back hopefully with a better written story than before. Let me just say I am hoping this is the only Author's Note you will come across, and I am really striving to finish this without abandoning it.

Again this is based on the 70's show the Nancy Drew Hardy Boys Mysteries. This one is based on Arson and Old Lace. For those of you who have not seen the show, Nancy is kidnapped and six months go by and Frank and Joe finally have a clue as to where Nancy is. They follow the clue and while Joe is evacuating people from a burning building Frank rescues Nancy. I think that this will most likely be multiple parts, but I will see where I can go with this.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters seen in the Nancy Drew Series or the Hardy Boys Series. They belong to Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon and the show belongs to Stratemeyer Syndicate.

"You've never given up have you?" Nancy questioned relieved to finally be safe and with her father again.

"After all we've been through" Frank replied with a different meaning behind it then he thought Nancy would pick up on.

Six months ago Frank was going to take Nancy his then-girlfriend out for a dinner and give her a promise ring, but that had never happened. He never even had the chance to tell Nancy that he loved her, and he had almost lost her forever. Frank is shaken out of his memories as Nancy passes him with paramedics surrounding her.

Nancy is ushered into an ambulance to be taken to a nearby hospital and Carson is riding in the ambulance with her. The ride is silent they are both holding on to each other silent tears running down their faces. The ride is only a few minutes long and when she is being wheeled down the halls of the hospital because the paramedics refused to let her walk; Carson is stopped by nurses and is forced to sit in the waiting room.

He looks up as Frank and Joe along with Fenton Hardy walk into the waiting room. They are all silent until Frank looks up at Carson a question in his eyes that Carson can answer without even needing the question voiced.

"No, we just got here a few minutes ago I do not know anything about how she is or what her injuries are."

Silence falls over the waiting room once more another couple looks up as Carson answers then they quickly return to their means of keeping themselves occupied. An hour goes by and they still have no word from the doctors, and everyone is fearing the worst of what her injuries were. They all did not think she had anything wrong because she was walking and while it looked like she lost a little weight it was not much. Finally, after an agonizing hour and a half, a doctor comes out to address the group.

"Hello. I am Doctor Maria and I am the one who is taking care of Nancy. I am sorry it took so long I wanted to make sure she had no internal injuries as well as outer. Only one person can go at a time and only for a few minutes each she needs her rest. There were no injuries that I could find she is very weak which is most likely from the climb in the elevator. Let me know if you need anything at all" Dr. Maria stated with a smile on her face.

Frank already knew that she was weak and he also knew it was not from the elevator climb as he recalled that Nancy had to stop twice throughout the climb and one was right at the beginning. He also already knew she had lost quite a bit of weight because he could hold them both up for the three minutes at each stop she made.

A silence fills the waiting room once more as Carson starts to head to her room. The other couple in the waiting room look up and smile at them happy that at least they heard some good news today even if it was not for them.

Carson walks into Nancy's room she is staying in overnight for observation, leaving everyone else to their thoughts. Carson knocks on her door and opens it to see Nancy trying to find any kind of clothes for her to put on other than the hideous lacy dress she was forced to wear during her capture.

Carson chuckles lightly as he says, "You aren't thinking of leaving yet now have you?"

"Um... No?" Nancy says as she spins to face him, surprising not only her father but herself too.

"Well. I will make a deal with you. If you stay overnight for the doctors I will make sure you are released early tomorrow morning."

Carson knew he won by the look on Nancy's face as she crawled back into the bed. She watches Carson very carefully as he moves closer to her. Carson sits on the bed and leans in for a kiss missing Nancy's flinch.

The father and daughter sit quietly hugging and Carson occasionally kissing Nancy's forehead. Finally, Carson realizes that as much as Nancy wanted to see him there is someone else she was hoping to see.

Giving Nancy one last kiss, Carson leaves the room and walks back to the waiting room where the squeaking of his shoes is the only thing he can hear. He finally makes it out of the long dimly lit hallways into the open space of the waiting room. Everyone looks up when Carson comes in, catching Frank's eye he nods down the hall. Quickly Frank stands up and practically runs down the hallway to reach her room.

Frank bursts into the room making Nancy jump who is still sitting in her bed. Frank crosses the room in two strides making it quickly to her bedside. He kneels next to her and just stares at her relief and adoration in his eyes.

For a moment they just stare into each other's eyes and when Frank leans in to give her a kiss he is surprised when it is her cheek he kisses. He pulls back looking into her eyes, it is then that he notices the fear in her eyes so Frank just sits in the chair near her bed not talking.

They sit in silence until a nurse comes in telling Frank he needs to leave because visiting hours are over. Frank turns to Nancy gives her a very sad smile, a quick kiss on the forehead, and a promise to be there when she is released from the hospital, he turns and follows the nurse out of the room leaving Nancy all alone with her thoughts.

After too much tossing and turning, Nancy asks for something to get her to sleep. In the morning Nancy is feeling a little rested if only because it was the first time in six months where she did not have a dream, she sits up to see her father and Frank waiting quietly for her to wake up. It looks like neither of them got any sleep and they had yet to notice that Nancy is awake.

Nancy quietly clears her throat to get their attention making both of them jerk their heads up to look at her. Carson is the first to stand up and he hands Nancy a new change of clothes, as Frank leaves the hospital room. Nancy looks at her father questioningly wondering why Frank had left.

"I thought you would want to take a shower after you woke up."

With a quick nod in understanding, Nancy stands up and tries to pull her hospital gown shut as she walks past her father towards the bathroom. She is surprised when her father follows her into the bathroom though. She quirks an eyebrow up in question as she starts the water.

"I don't know what you were thinking but I am not leaving the room, and I thought you would rather have your father than some stranger helping you shower. Don't worry I will just sit on the toilet until you tell me you need help and don't even think about being stubborn" Carson explains.

"I... okay I can't deny you caring about my well-being."

When the shower gets warm enough for her to feel comfortable she quickly strips once her father closes his eyes, and she steps into the shower a sigh of relief escapes her as the warm water hitting her muscles.

She then starts lathering her hair and cleans it at least three times and then turns up the heat to where it is burning her and she scrubs every square inch of herself too many times to count. By the time she turns off the water, her skin is rubbed raw with how many times she scrubbed it.

She grabs a towel and wraps it around herself then opens the curtain for her father to help her shuffle out of the bathroom and into her hospital room. He then turns his back so that Nancy can change, but he will be there in case she needs help. Nancy does know the routine with the family having done it so many times before, but she can't help but think how much different this time is.

Once Nancy was changed into a pink blouse and blue jeans with her signature kitten heels, Carson and Nancy left her hospital room to see Frank standing right outside. He looked up at her a devastated look in his eyes. Frank wished that he knew what Rathbone did to Nancy so that he knew how he could help her heal. Frank didn't know how much he didn't want to know what he did. No one knew the extent of her injuries, not even the doctors.

Frank gave her a hug which she stiffened in until she seemed to melt into it. The hug lasted only for a few minutes but it was enough to give Frank a little closure that everything will work out for the best. Nancy held his hand although she was hesitant to like she was afraid he wouldn't want to hold onto her.

Nancy armed with Carson and Frank on either side of her sign her discharge papers and they leave the hotel. Carson had taken her blue roadster to the hospital hoping to give her a sense of familiarity. Nancy sat in the backseat and Frank chose to sit in the back with her.

When they arrived home Hannah and Joe were waiting for them at the door. Hannah engulfed Nancy in a bone-crushing hug and gave her repeated kisses to her head, whereas Joe pulled her in for a brief hug. They entered the house to see Fenton sitting in an overstuffed armchair reading the paper, but when he noticed Nancy had entered he set down the paper and pulled her too in a hug.

The Hardys and the Drews have been friends for quite some time and when Nancy visited Bayport she always thought of Fenton as a second father to her. Although this time she could not allow him to hug her; she had quickly pulled out of his embrace and ran up the stairs to her bedroom.

Everyone looked confused at Nancy's sudden departure not quite sure why she couldn't hug Fenton back. Nancy was way too polite to deny someone a hug. Everyone had their suspicions but no one wanted to voice them for fear that it was true.

Lunchtime neared and Nancy still had not come out of her bedroom, so armed with a sandwich Frank headed up the stairs to her room. What he thought he would see never prepared him for this moment. When he opened the door he saw her clothes strewn everywhere. Anything white or with the slightest hint of lace was torn into pieces her whole room was destroyed. Things were thrown around and broken, even the picture Joe had taken of her and Frank kissing on their last case in Hollywood.

Laying on her bed Nancy was asleep her hands bleeding from destroying all of the fabric with her bare hands. Sighing Frank set down the plate on her desk and went to wake her up, shaking her lightly and calling her name Nancy started to stir. When Nancy woke up and saw Frank she backed as far away from him as far as she could. Frank although surprised knew better than to approach her. Instead, he went to her bathroom and grabbed a washcloth slowly approaching her he held out the towel to her.

"It's okay Nance you're home you are bleeding you need to wipe your hands. I understand it's okay."

Nancy slowly reached out for Frank's outstretched hand and took the washcloth and started wiping her hands off until she got every inch of blood off of her. When she looked up she realized that Frank wasn't in her room anymore, and with that, she cried herself to sleep.

A few minutes later Frank entered her room to see her fast asleep. He set down the gauze and medical tape and slowly pried the towel out of her hands, and started wrapping her hands to prevent any more bleeding. He then grabbed the plate of food, set it on her bedside to where she would see it right away, and he then left her room.

It was almost dinner when Nancy emerged from her room looking more put together than she did before. Carrying in her still wrapped hands was her laptop, she came into the living room and still distancing herself from everyone else she pulled it open and signed into her email account.

She had to start rebuilding her life as quickly as she could if she had something to keep her busy than she would not have time to think about everything that happened over those six months. The quicker she can erase that she was gone the sooner.

Seeing that she had more than a thousand emails she sighed and started going through it all. Emails from friends abroad who didn't know she had disappeared, coupons for stores, and lastly case-related emails. Quickly replying to her friend reassuring them she was okay and that she was just really busy. Deleting all the spam from the stores, and as she glanced through the case emails she didn't pay attention because she wouldn't be able to solve any of them.

One email caught her eye though, a few days ago someone emailed her asking about a case she replied saying she had time to meet up at the local ice cream store Scoop for that Saturday to discuss things further.

When she finished, Hannah had said dinner was ready for them to eat. The meal had gone by with mindless chatter something she did not realize she wanted after having to watch those films and new channels while she ate per Rathbone's orders. She engrossed herself in the conversation and surprising everyone by eating everything on her plate. While in that penthouse she had only eaten frozen dinners and having one of Hannah's meals let alone her favorite was enough motivation to eat.

After their dinner, they played a quick game of Spades where Frank and Hannah had won. Nancy did not like being paired up with Joe he kept betting way higher than he could realistically get. So naturally, they were dead last with zero points.

Joe would argue that he isn't the kind of person to do puzzles but everyone knew that he was just as bright as Frank he just didn't like to show it. They had to stay the stereotype brothers the brain and the brawn and they can't have to brains, so Joe lets Frank do all the puzzles but he does occasionally step in to help.

With promises of a rematch against the champions, everyone headed up to bed but Frank and Nancy stayed behind. Standing in the kitchen on opposite sides of the island the cards still laid out on the surface Frank asked the question on his mind that he had since she didn't let him kiss her.

"What is wrong? Are you rethinking our relationship? Just because you were gone for six months doesn't mean my feelings have changed and they haven't. Nancy I lo..." Frank couldn't finish he wouldn't now is not the time to tell her that he loves her. He has to let her heal.

"I don't want to talk about it, Frank. I'm sorry I just need to think and I will tell you as soon as I know what I am going to do with myself. Goodnight."

Staring at each other for another moment until Nancy turned and headed up the stairs to her father's bedroom, and saying a quick goodnight and giving him a kiss left and went to her bedroom.

Meanwhile, Frank is still standing at the kitchen island thinking over what she said as he fingers the ring on the chain he is wearing around his neck. He wanted to give her the ring as soon as possible. He wanted to tell her so badly how he felt but knew what that monster did to her would take time. He just hoped he was patient enough.

Slowly Frank headed to the guest room he would share with Joe, upon entering the room he noticed Joe's clothes were already strewn around and he was on his half of the bed snoring. Settling in for the night and taking off his shirt and changing into basketball shorts he crawled into the other side of the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters seen in the Nancy Drew Series or the Hardy Boys Series. They belong to Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon and the show belongs to Stratemeyer Syndicate. Finally Scoop is part of the Her Interactive Nancy Drew desktop games. **

"Let me go! No! Let me go!" Nancy screams as thrashes in her bedroom. The Hardys come running in along with Carson because Carson refused to let them get a hotel and instead put them up for the night in two of the guest rooms. Carson runs over to her bed and starts shaking her trying to get her to wake up. He steps back heartbroken at Nancy's cries for help. Frank steps up to try and wake her and as he shakes her he starts whispering. "Nance. Nancy, it's okay your okay. It's alright." Nancy finally wakes and grabs on to Frank and starts sobbing on his bare chest for he did not have time to get a shirt on when he was woken. Nancy finally seems to realize he is shirtless and she backs up her cheeks a flaming red. Frank looks down at her as she pulls back his face tinted pink as well, and he notes that everyone else had left the room. He focuses back on Nancy as she finishes wiping the tears from her eyes. As she looks back up at him her eyes the clearest blue that is glistening with tears she has yet to shed and what Frank could only describe as sheer terror. "I am sorry Frank. I did not mean to wake you up. I..." "Don't worry about it at all Nancy I couldn't sleep anyways. Do you want to talk about your dream?" "I was back in that penthouse, and I was watching the news and realized that I was no longer being reported about which I knew meant everyone forgot about me. I hadn't seen my dad on the news channel in so long that I feared he thought I was dead. I got up when I realized that the door to the penthouse closed leaving me completely alone. I got up to go to the door I put my ear on it to listen for any noise and hearing none I tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open. I started heading towards the elevator which would be my last hope and before I even pushed the button I heard it ping, so I ran into the kitchen because someone was exiting the elevator. I grabbed a knife determined to finally leave I originally had a plan but in the heat of the moment I wasn't thinking and I lost my one chance to escape. When I heard the person looking around for me I hid behind the island hoping to take them by surprise. I heard the kitchen door open and as I crouched behind the island I heard his footsteps get closer and as I sprang out from behind the island he wasn't surprised like he was waiting for me to try and escape. He grabbed my arm with the knife poised towards his chest and he swung it down onto the counter and I dropped the knife. That night he... he... he..." Nancy trails off as she starts full-blown sobbing. Frank goes over to Nancy and scoops her into a big bear hug holding on tightly but making sure he isn't hurting her. He whispers sweet nothings in her ear as he soothes her to where she is just hiccuping. He stands up and Nancy looks up at him hurt and confused. "You don't want me anymore do you?!" She screams at him, "Get out! Get out of here! I should have known no one would want a broken person!" Frank looks at her horrified of her accusations but does as she says and leaves the room. Frank walks into Carson's bedroom where Carson is sitting on his bed his head in his hands. "Sir" Frank starts, "You may want to go talk to Nancy she was hurt way worse than any of us ever expected." Carson looks up at Frank horror in his eyes. "You don't mean..." He starts. The look in Frank's eyes was all Carson needed to rush out of his bedroom and he could hear Nancy's door open and shut. Tired Frank leaves the room and heads downstairs to the guest bedroom he is sharing with Joe. As Frank enters the room Joe looks up from the book he is reading on the bed. Wait, nevermind the comic book he is "reading". Frank has never thought a comic book could be considered as a book and let alone you read it. Joe sets the book down on the nightstand and stands up, and wordlessly he pulls Frank into an embrace. From their room, they could both hear Nancy's and her father's cries of despair. They both try and block it out as they finish their hug and sit back down on the queen size bed they would share during their stay with the Drews. Nancy and her dad are still hugging each other with dried tears. Nancy looks up at her dad who fell asleep and gives him one last big hug, then helping him lie down on her bed, covers him, and leaves the room. Nancy crawls into her dad's bed down the hall and turns out the light, and closes her eyes hoping for a restful sleep. Morning comes and Nancy is thankful for her dreamless sleep but is confused when she realizes she is in her dad's room. She gets up and stretches before moving to her room. Upon reaching her room, Nancy showers puts on a blue turtleneck with jeans and then she pulls her hair into a ponytail after brushing it. The whole day slowly goes by as she waits for noon so she can go to Scoop and discuss the case. She has already done laundry for everyone which was not very pleasant since it is four guys. Helped Hannah clean and prep for dinner, watched TV, and read three-quarters of her Agatha Christie book. She is about to die when she looks at the clock and saw it was 11:50 so she got up put her shoes on and left.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters seen in the Nancy Drew Series or the Hardy Boys Series. They belong to Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon and the show belongs to Stratemeyer Syndicate. Finally Scoop is part of the Her Interactive Nancy Drew desktop games. **

**I just noticed that it is showing all my paragraphs as one big one. I am so sorry you guys I am breaking them up I promise I will figure out how to fix it, I know it is annoying to read like that.**

Nancy pulls up to Scoop in her blue roadster and as she crosses the street she notices a blonde woman stood up from her table outside the ice cream shop and come to greet her. Going inside for a little more privacy from passersby the blonde introduces herself as Hannah Wilson.

"My daughter has gone missing and I was wondering if you could help me find out where she went" Hannah Wilson states.

"Of course I will, would you mind if my friends who are also private investigators helped too? They are Frank and Joe Hardy you may have heard of their father Fenton Hardy."

Nancy comes back to the house and calls the Hardy brothers into the living room, and they look concerned and delighted to see her case notepad in hand. They sit on either side of Nancy on her brown sofa, and they sit quietly waiting for Nancy to speak.

"Okay so we have a case. Her name is Abigail Wilson she is fifteen years old and she went missing three days ago. She is 5'6 with brown hair down to her waist with blue eyes. The last time she was seen is when she went to her friend's house, and when she was supposed to be home and didn't return her mother thought she was still there and didn't worry until the next day when she hadn't seen her by noon. She went to the police station but as of now they have no idea where she could have gone and it does not look like she was abducted. That is when she emailed me the next day asking for my help. So what is our first plan of action?" Nancy rushes in a breath.

The brothers looked at each other having a conversation with their eyes until Frank nods his head and they look back at Nancy.

"Is it really the best to get involved in a mystery now Nan? You need to heal you need to ease back into things, and we don't think you can when not even three days back at home and you get another mystery."

"Well good thing it isn't up to you to decide what is best for me. There is a teenager MISSING Frank! You can't abandon her who knows where she is or what is happening to her right now! You didn't abandon me so how could you abandon her!"

With that Nancy storms out of the room leaving the living room filled with tension. Fenton walks in after hearing the disagreement from Carson's office in the room next door.

"She is right you know. I understand how you guys don't want her to do too much, especially since you know. The only way she may be able to heal is to make sure this girl is found and not hurt like Nancy was."

The boys nod their heads and head in the direction Nancy went to apologize and get more information out of her.

"Hey we are sorry Nancy we just care about you. You know that right? Anyways Bess and George contacted us earlier today and said that we should all go for a night out at this new club. Do you want me to tell them we will go?"

"I do get that you guys care about me, I am sorry I shouldn't have snapped like that either. Sure I would love to see Bess and George since they were on vacation in Florida. I should probably go get ready then."

Nancy showers very quickly, puts lotion and perfume on, curls her hair and pulled most of it in a bun with little wisps framing her face. She then looks in her closet that is now mostly bare, she makes a mental note to tell Bess they need to go shopping, she then notices a dark blue dress that slowly gets lighter and will lay at her knees.

She puts on the dress and finds some silver flats that will go with the dress as well. She then moves to her dresser and pulls out some earrings and necklace that her mother owned. She takes one last look in the mirror smiles softly and leaves the room.

As she walks down the stairs all four men in the room turned to stare at her. Her father walks to the foot of the staircase and kisses her cheek.

"You look so gorgeous. Just like your mother" He states with a smile.

Nancy blushes at his statement, and walks towards the rest of them, "I am ready to go let's go get Bess and George, and put on our dancing shoes!"

With that they bid goodbye to their fathers who will be alone for the night. They all hop into Nancy's roadster with her behind the wheel, and they drive the three minutes to get Bess and George.

Nancy loves how close they all live to each other so when they were younger they could walk to each other's houses without their parents worrying. She pulls to a stop in front of the house and both girls come out dressed just as nice as Nancy.

Bess in her light pink knee length with ruffles on the bottom and pink heels, and George for once wearing a dress too. She has a black full length which she reveals the jeans underneath them, and she has black vans on.

Once everyone is piled in they start talking about mundane things but everyone keeps casting looks at Nancy when they think she is not paying attention. She tries to ignore them and focuses on driving.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters seen in the Nancy Drew Series or the Hardy Boys Series. They belong to Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon and the show belongs to Stratemeyer Syndicate. **

A new song starts up and Frank turns to Nancy, and asks her to dance with him. He leads her towards the dance floor and he puts his hands on her waist and she puts her hands around his neck. She knows Frank won't hurt her but she can't fight the nagging feeling in the back of her mind, that he may just do something to hurt her.

The intro is over and the lyrics come over the speakers:

Oh, I can't fight this feeling any longer

And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow

What started out this friendship has grown stronger

I only wish I had the strength to let it show

I tell myself that I can't hold out forever

I said there is no reason for my fear

'Cause I feel so secure when we're together

'How true this is' Nancy thought whereas Frank's thoughts were not on the song at all but the ring that is in his pocket.

You give my life direction

You make everything so clear

And even as I wander

I'm keeping you in sight

You're a candle in the window

On a cold, dark winter's night

'I need to tell her now, but I need to give her time... What should I do?' Frank questioned himself.

And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might

And I can't fight this feeling anymore

I've forgotten what I started fighting for

It's time to bring this ship into the shore

And throw away the oars, forever

'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore

I've forgotten what I started fighting for

And if I have to crawl upon the floor

Come crashing through your door

'I will do it, as much as she needs to heal, she needs to know' reasons Frank.

Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore

My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you

I've been running around in circles in my mind

And it always seems that I'm following you, girl

'Cause you take me to the places

That alone I'd never find

And even as I wander

I'm keeping you in sight

You're a candle in the window

On a cold, dark winter's night

And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might

Frank starts to pull away from Nancy and he can tell what her thoughts were, so he leans in really slowly and kisses her on the cheek. Nancy looks at him with what could only be love in her eyes, and leans into Frank and presses a soft kiss to his lips.

And I can't fight this feeling anymore

I've forgotten what I started fighting for

It's time to bring this ship into the shore

And throw away the oars, forever

'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore

I've forgotten what I started fighting for

And if I have to crawl upon the floor

Frank and Nancy finally pull away from their kisses and Frank resumes going down on one knee, and as he reaches the floor he pulls out the velvet box from his pocket. He looks up at Nancy and sees how shocked she is, and he starts to second guess himself. Instead he pulls open the box looks Nancy in the eyes and starts his speech that he had practiced so many times:

"Nancy Drew you are the love of my life, I love you so so much. I know our relationship has gone fast, but when have we ever been the ones to do things the proper way. "

This receives a smile from Nancy.

"I know it is too soon to from your last case but that night... I was going to propose that night, and I feel like now would be the perfect time to ask you. I love your eyes how they always sparkle as we get into mischief together, and how your hair turns red in the sunlight. How you can stand Joe, because I have lived with him for how long and I still can't. You are my everything, and when we met all those years ago I knew you were the one for me even though I had Callie, and you had Ned. Please, we don't have to get married right away but will you be my wife one day?"

Nancy has tears streaming down her face, and by now everyone knows that a proposal was going on the music was turned off and Joe, Bess, and George were standing out of their seats and Bess had her phone out.

"Yes Frank Yes Yes Yes, I would love to marry you!" Nancy exclaims.

'I can trust Frank, I know I can why else would my first reaction been yes... Frank won't hurt me. Will he?'

Frank stands up, and spins Nancy around in a circle before he pulls her into a kiss and finally put the promise ring on her finger.

He will have to get an engagement ring for her soon. He liked how her hand looked with the ring on her finger, and her smile that lit up the entire room. He gives her one last hug and kiss, and then they walk towards the rest of the gang whose mouths are wide open.

Frank and Nancy smile at each other still holding on tightly to each other. Bess is the one who breaks the silence by grabbing Nancy and exclaiming just how lucky Nancy is. The rest offer congratulations to Frank and Nancy, and then they decide to leave the club and head home.

Once everyone is in taken home and heading to bed, Frank and Nancy decide to wait to tell their families that they are engaged. They both head up the stairs and Nancy looks at Frank as they were about to part ways. She smiles at him and nods her head to her room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters seen in the Nancy Drew Series or the Hardy Boys Series. They belong to Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon and the show belongs to Stratemeyer Syndicate.**

**I am back at it! I know it has been a long time and I have constantly been thinking about this story. I am determined to finish it, and I have a vague outline for the next couple chapters. However, don't be surprised if I don't post for a while. For everyone who is still reading Thank You so much! Writing is a hobby for me, and I haven't had much time for it.**

"Okay, Frank if we are serious about our relationship and getting married someday you need to know what happened in the penthouse. It isn't anything much worse than normal, so I don't know why I am reacting differently. Anyways, it started after Dad and I finished eating. He was paying the bill and I was waiting outside for him. Suddenly, a car came to a stop in front of me and I felt someone grab me, and that was it. I tried to fight. I truly did, but I just wasn't strong enough.

When we finally made it to the penthouse I was locked in a room for hours. Then after what must have been all night a man came into the room, I now know it was Rathbone, he came in and basically started calling me Greta and hugging me. I didn't really have a choice. I didn't want him touching me but if I fought I knew it would only be worse. So when he left the room I tried to open the door, and I found that it was unlocked…" Nancy trailed off.

"It's okay Nance you don't have to tell me anything. Just know that it was normal to react the way you are, you were gone for six months" Frank stated who had stayed quiet up until now.

"No I have to tell someone and I would rather it be you… before the trial where I will have to relive it all again. At least that isn't for a couple months. As I was saying, I found the door was unlocked. I snuck out of the room I was held in, but that was when someone I didn't recognize came out of another door. This door led to the kitchen the man barely glanced at me. I was able to walk around the whole day without anyone coming towards me. I eventually crossed paths with Rathbone, while I was exploring the apartment. He forced me to sit on a couch, and he sat next to me and started playing this old movie. I saw this lady who looked almost exactly like me, wearing a lace dress.

I finally started connecting the dots. He thought I was the lady in the movie... Greta. Our days consisted of eating all three meals together and watching these old movies. It was only when he left the room that I was able to turn on the news. It broke my heart seeing Dad begging for me to be returned to him. I started seeing him on the news less and less before he completely disappeared. It was much worse knowing that he gave up on me coming back. I started to lose hope, until one day when I was left completely alone, and thought I had a chance to escape, but you know what happened. A week later you came through the elevator saying there was a fire" Nancy whimpered as she tried to hold back tears.

There was a long pause while Frank digested what he was told, her life for six whole months was utter despair. He leaned forward and scooped Nancy into a hug whispering sweet nothings in her ears while she started to calm down.

After a few minutes Frank noticed Nancy went still, as he looked down at her tear streaked face he couldn't help but feel his love grow stronger for her. He also felt much more guilty about giving her that ring. He eases into the bed with Nancy's head still on his shoulder.

Frank reached towards the lamp on the end table and flicked off the lights. Frank scooted a little more so he could properly support her.

"I love you Nancy Drew, you are the strongest woman alive" Frank muttered into her hair as he too fell asleep.

For once, every teen slept well. Joe snoring away in his bed. Bess who had spent the night with George talking about the events earlier that evening, and most importantly Nancy and Frank who were not plagued by nightmares.

Carson Drew sat up in his study looking over papers. He sighed and rubbed his eyes as he rose from his leather chair. He walked over to his safe, and typing in his code puts the papers away for the night. He went upstairs and as he waled by Nancy's door, he gently opens it to check on her. Frank was still nestled under Nancy, and had pulled her closer in his sleep.

Carson takes one last look at the young couple,smiled as he shut the door again. He went into his bedroom and got ready for bed. He had turned off the lights and laid there trying in vain to fall asleep. He had too many things on his mind. Realizing that he wouldn't get any sleep until he worked out his thoughts, Carson got out of bed and went back down to his office.

The house was silent but so much was going on outside of it. A girl screaming and sobbing for help. She couldn't tell where she was or when the man who was there would be back. She looked around the small room hoping there would be something she could use to defend herself. The room was absolutely bare, no furniture and she didn't even have a mattress to sleep on. As if she would be able to fall asleep with a threat right outside the door. Huddling in the farthest corner of the room, she sat up and stared at the door.

With everyone still sleeping at seven o'clock Hannah busied herself with folding the laundry and making a big brunch for everyone. As Hannah was doing the laundry she couldn't help but have her mind go back to Nancy. The poor girl, Hannah is as close to a mother as Nancy has had since her mother's passing.

Hannah always tried to take care of her, but Nancy always preferred her dad. Hannah has never had an issue with that because she knows that Nancy loves her as if she were a blood relative. She has never tried to replace Nancy's mom, but she was trying hard to be a support system.

Hannah was there for her when Ned broke up with Nancy, the bumps and scrapes of a child, and all the little and big moments. She knew that Nancy could get through this hiccup that life has thrown at her, and Hannah planned on being there for her every step of the way.

It was nine o'clock when Nancy woke up. She slowly opened her eyes and realized that she was lying on top of Frank. Blushing, she very carefully extracted her from Frank's embrace glad that he wasn't awake. Slowly the events of the previous day came back to her.

Nancy gasped as she looked down at her hand. There on her finger sat a gorgeous ring. Nancy wasn't quite sure what Frank had meant by a promise ring but she was almost certain that she would want to marry him. She smiled to herself as she looked over at Frank who was still sleeping. She sat there watching Frank for several minutes before he started to stir.

Nancy quickly got up and pretended that she wasn't just watching him although both were aware of why he woke up. Frank sat up and smiled at her. When Frank saw her hand his smile grew ten times bigger. He couldn't wait to call her Mrs. Hardy.

'Woah slow down there. You may have picked it out to be the engagement ring but you are not engaged. Stop thinking like that, who knows if she even wants to marry me,' thought Frank sullenly.

Frank slowly got up out of Nancy's bed and glanced at her again. She looked refreshed and her eyes had lost some of the haunted look. They both smiled as they went down the stairs in a comfortable silence, however, when they reached the bottom of the stairs and saw everyone staring at them they both started to blush.

"Finally we can eat! I was over here starving to death!" Joe bursts out hoping up from his chair.

"Oh hush Joe, you know that you shouldn't eat a meal without everyone being present," Hannah scolded.

Ducking from Hannah's swat Joe ran into the kitchen which smelled of bacon and eggs.

"Well then, let's eat. I have to agree with Joe on this one," Carson teased.

Once everyone had served themselves a plate of chocolate chip pancakes with bacon and scrambled eggs they started discussing what they were planning on doing for the day.

"I was planning on tracing the places Abigail went the day she disappeared," Nancy added, "I really just want to get her home to her parents as quickly as possible."

"You shouldn't be working so much at first though. How about you have a girl's day with Bess and George. After lunch we all could help you out with your case," Hannah countered looking at the brothers.

"Yeah Nance. It will be much faster if you have multiple people helping you. We could even start while you talked to Abigail's friends!" Joe piped up.

Frank reluctantly agreed even though everyone could tell that he was still against her taking on a case this quickly.

"Fine. I know you guys mean well, so I will start the case later on today" Nancy agreed.


End file.
